


you know i'm stupid for you

by kaorupecs



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Cuddling, Fluff, Gaming, Implied/Referenced Parental Death, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:35:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27385051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaorupecs/pseuds/kaorupecs
Summary: Miles different from the empty, unpopulated, and overgrown base he had started with, Kaoru was ready to show it off to Rei and take him on the best aquarium date he’s ever been on—and also, hopefully, the only aquarium date he’s been on, because if Rei was seeing other Animal Crossing men there was going to be a problem.Speaking of,“You’re not going on dates to anyone else’s museums, are you?”
Relationships: Hakaze Kaoru/Sakuma Rei
Comments: 8
Kudos: 36
Collections: Reikao Week 2020!





	you know i'm stupid for you

**Author's Note:**

> for rkweek day four - prompt: aquarium

Kaoru had never been much of a gamer. 

His Dad’s affluence was shown in many places, from the well-maintained yard, bushels of hydrangea surrounding the outside of their five bedroom, four bathroom home, to the crisp button downs and blazers Kaoru was made to wear growing up. Money could be shelled out for a pair of dress shoes Kaoru would only wear once or twice, but never for the gift of a console.

It was fine at the time, Kaoru would much rather play with his Mom than whatever shooting game his classmates were interested in. Helping her around the kitchen—his tiny hands fumbling the motions of folding homemade dough around beef dumpling filling, or excitedly tapping a spoon against eggs she had hardboiled, preparing them for the tea—was more worthwhile to him than any copy of _Cooking Mama_ could have been. When they weren't cooking or dancing together in the kitchen, he’d spend his days with the water. 

Whether it be the aquarium, the ocean, or the koi pond in his backyard, the same truth rang throughout: he loves the sea, the ponds, the rivers, the lakes, the streams and everything in between. Hell, leather shoes be damned, if Kaoru saw a puddle he was going to jump into it. Much too young to understand the research papers his Mom dedicated her time to writing, Kaoru instead spent his time pouring over pictures of the fish she had studied. When taken to a library, he was found in the nonfiction aisles, stood in front of the aquatic life section, without fail. 

By high school, when he wasn’t working he’d dedicate enough time to tend to the koi, but it was only the bare minimum. Checking the temperature of and sprinkling food into the water felt daunting when his Mom was no longer able to take his hand in hers. Going to the pond alone only served to make his chest tighten and his heart feel heavy, but if he didn’t maintain it then another piece of his Mom would be gone. Lost to time, just like the fading memories of her go-to perfume, or the lilt to her voice whenever she sang in front of the stove.

Video games were dweeby, weren’t they? Why would Kaoru willingly spend more time in his house when he could take a girl out?

It was only now at eighteen that Kaoru was getting to play something other than Candy Crush. The Nintendo Switch had been pretty pricey, but UNDEAD were doing okay, he could afford one for himself and one for his boyfriend. He still wasn’t interested in most games, but after weeks of watching Yuuta-kun greet cute cats and ducks on his virtual island, he had been itching to play the game himself.

It was relaxing, Kaoru could do a little bit of work at a time and feel his stress melt away. The sense of being productive without actually doing any real work, he really could have used this a year or two ago. Kaoru had spent over three weeks tidying up, catching fish, inviting villagers, and decorating where he saw fit on his island.

Surfboards lined his beach, his native peach trees were placed on every corner, and commissioned statues of fish were scattered in various locations. His island was sweet, breeds of hydrangeas that had been there when he first landed now mingled with roses and lilies. Unsurprisingly beach themed, he was working on making the place really feel like a resort. 

Miles different from the empty, unpopulated, and overgrown base he had started with, Kaoru was ready to show it off to Rei and take him on the best aquarium date he’s ever been on—and also, hopefully, the _only_ aquarium date he’s been on, because if Rei was seeing other Animal Crossing men there was going to be a problem.

Speaking of,

“You’re not going on dates to anyone else’s museums, are you?”

Rei shifted in his lap, crossing one leg under the other.

“No, I haven’t been able to visit _anyone’s_ islands.” Rei peered over his shoulder, looking up at Kaoru with wide, cherry-red eyes. His thin eyebrows were downturned, pout sliding easily onto his face.

Leaning down to kiss Rei’s pout away was second nature, chaste but only because the loading screen music had begun playing. Still, despite the shortness, Rei smiled, stretching and pressing his back further into Kaoru’s chest. 

“Why haven’t you played with that, ah, the kid..? Uhh, shit, what was his name? You know, the letter one– _Love-han_?”

At the mention of the kids name, Rei groaned, body sliding down until only his head rested in Kaoru’s lap. 

“I’ve been barred from entering! In my current state, I’d, ah.. ‘Mess with his island's aesthetic!’”

“Wow. Verbatim?”

“Yes.” Rei whined, looking downright pathetic. Bested by a kid three years his junior.

Kaoru dropped his Switch, instead bringing his hands to run through Rei’s hair.

“Well, kids are just better at technology, aren’t they? I didn’t know how to run until Yuuta-kun asked why I was walking so slow, so I’m sure your island is nice.”

Kaoru had grown used to many of Rei’s teary-eyed expressions, but the glossy look that appeared whenever Kaoru praised him never failed to make Karou feel a certain dark chocolate type of bittersweet. As he peered up at Kaoru, the faint reflection of the title screen could be seen on his eyes. Gazing over to Rei’s black and purple switch, he could see Muffy trotting along Rei’s still dirt town hall. 

Black fur was nearly the exact same shade as the bangs Kaoru brushed off of Rei’s forehead. Meaning to only kiss him once, Kaoru instead went overboard, leaning down and peppering Rei’s head with his lips.

Kaoru’s lips may have been occupied, but Rei’s weren’t.

“Really?” Kaoru didn’t need to take his gaze away from his boyfriend’s head to hear the smile in his voice. He knew the exact way Rei’s lips were upturned, grin turned dorky as his fangs poked out, too large to be hidden away when his mouth was half open.

“Yeah, Rei-kun, I’d love for you to take me on a tour~”

Rei needed no extra help opening his gates. Kaoru had needed to talk him through _everything_ , from charging his console to inserting the game’s SD card, but Rei had whisked through the process of opening his island to friends. Were Animal Crossing men more of a threat than Kaoru had initially proposed? No, no, that couldn’t be it. It was probably Aira. Hopefully. 

Standing in his own airport, Kaoru dully clicked one dialogue option after another. Yes, he’d like to fly. It’ll be a friend's island, please. Local play, checking for available islands and—

“Rei-kun,” Kaoru paused. Rei looked up at him, head tilted the slightest degree. Despite knowing Rei was waiting for his question, Kaoru didn’t know what to say.

“Kaoru-kun…” Rei trailed off, expression nothing but confused as he waited for clarification.

“Did you seriously name your island ‘ _Island_ ’?”

Rei’s gaze tore away from his, instead focusing on the screen in front of him. Nimble fingers twiddled with the joysticks of his console as he sighed. Kaoru knew his boyfriend was talented with his words, he wrote nearly all of UNDEAD’s songs, after all, and at least once a week Kaoru would find a poem in his mailbox, inky script declaring love with perfect penmanship. Somehow, despite this, Rei Sakuma was the head resident of Island island. 

The beginning of Rei’s whine started at the exact same time that Kaoru’s laugh did. His eyes were closed but he could feel the pressure against his chest that was unmistakably Rei knocking his head backwards to the point of collision. 

“Kaoru-kun, don’t laugh at me~” Rei pleaded, head shaking against Kaoru’s chest. “I mean it, the kids made fun of me already, I didn’t _know_ –”

“You didn’t know that the question ‘ _What should we name this island?_ ’ meant you had to name the island?”

“I thought it was like trivia…”

Kaoru laughed again, light and airy and cut short by his lips pressing against Rei’s, to make up for the teasing. Kaoru knew he owed Rei a few more, but the slight jolt of the Switch in his lap signified that he’d landed. 

Stepping out of the airport, Kaoru saw a lot of trash, and a few weeds. Rei’s character greeted him, first with the frightened expression, then with the angry. Kaoru bit his tongue as he watched Rei cycle through every expression other than delight, what started out as a mistake amplified by the panicked motions of Rei’s hands, the joysticks moving every which way.

After a little goading Rei got it, pink and orange flowers surrounding his islander’s head as he swayed from side to side. Kaoru joined him in the motions, snapping a picture of the two of them celebrating.

“You know, that’s still how I feel before every date we go on.” Kaoru pulled Rei’s body closer as he spoke, smile buried into the back of Rei’s head. His own expression may have been hidden, but his boyfriend’s wasn’t. 

“Kaorukun, no smooth talking before the tour; I can’t be distracted.” Rei’s scolding meant nothing to Kaoru, not when he could see the scarlet red tips of Rei’s ears from his vantage point. Years ago Kaoru would have considered Rei an incredible actor, undecipherable and untouchable. Now he’s still a great one, but no amount of grandeur could cover up the tells Kaoru had memorized over time.

“Right, right~ Show me the Island, Rei-kun.”

Not much had been changed from the original default island they had started with. The cliff tops and rivers were all natural, the only flowers planted were Rei’s native mums, and there wasn’t any rhyme or reason to where Rei placed a building. As Kaoru walked alongside Rei’s character, he only noticed one change in particular.

“Rei-kun...Where are all of your trees?” In the time he had spent walking around Rei’s island, Kaoru hadn’t seen a single one. He _knew_ Rei should have some, his own island was covered in both peach and regular trees when he first started, but no matter how hard Kaoru looked, he couldn’t even spot a coconut tree on Rei’s beach. 

Rei’s shoulders began to shake, and moments later the ‘oioioi’s began. Rei’s wails weren’t dissimilar to that of a banshee’s, obnoxiously growing louder and louder as the crying continued.

“Hinata-kun, my- my child, he asked me to be his best friend-” Rei’s explanation was cut off with another bout of crocodile tears, voice pathetic in a way that gave Kaoru an idea of where this was going.

“So I let him, of course, because he’s my wonderful little hatchling, my angelic demon spawn, b-but then he came over and he _chopped down_ all of my trees!” 

Kaoru grimaced, face contorted in pitt for Rei. He didn’t even know best friends could do that, but now that he did he was definitely taking Senacchi off of that list. 

“Even the stumps?” 

“Yes!” 

“ _Oh_ , Rei…” Kaoru instantly sympathized with Rei’s tear filled eyes. He knew it wasn’t that serious, but it didn’t stop his heart from twisting as he wiped tears out from under Rei’s eyes. 

“He said my trees would be for a public park in the metropolitan area of his island...that it would really cement the class divide he was going for.” Rather than acknowledge whatever _that_ sentence meant, Kaoru stayed quiet, running his hands gently through Rei’s hair.

“And now I don’t have any trees. Or fish. The only thing I catch are the tin cans…” Rei sighed, his own screen focused on the trash pile on his beach. Boots, cans, and tires lined his shore, flies buzzing around the occasional pile. 

“Well then, I can help you fish some! We don’t need a full museum to have a nice date, Rei-kun.”

Rei’s sighed. Kaoru had seen him smile when he offered his help, but Rei’s luck in his own waters was clearly abysmal.

“Hey, why don’t we fish on my island? I can show you around—I have a heart shaped pond we could snuggle up against~” Pulling Rei into a hug was as easy as skipping practice used to be, broad arms wrapping carefully around Rei’s back. The curve of Rei’s lips could be felt against Kaoru’s neck. Rei did nothing but smile and lazily kiss the spot where his neck met his shoulder, but it got Kaoru’s heart racing all the same.

“If Kaoru-kun would be so kind to share his luck…”

“For you? I’m ready to give you everything.”

**Author's Note:**

> i don't think its actually possible for a best friend to take your trees but when the thought busted through the sanity wall of my brain like the kool aid man it took me out and i knew it had to be included
> 
> also, it was a one off line, but ever since erin proposed that hinata's island be split into a class divide it's been sitting at the back of my mind. he's sick and twisted and experienced poverty i know he'd do it.
> 
> title taken from stupid for you by waterparks, OH SELF PROMO i drew an interpretation of reikao in ac [here](https://twitter.com/reikaocore/status/1323988962185269249?s=21)!, and you can follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/reikaocore)!!


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